Verstappen reckons Ricciardo will regret leaving

Max Verstappen says "fun and pleasant" Daniel Ricciardo will regret leaving Red Bull but he won't miss him as a teammate in 2019.

Ricciardo stunned both Red Bull and the wider motor racing community by choosing to join Renault this year after his deal with the Austrian team expired.

"Personally I won't miss him," Verstappen told Algemeen Dagblad newspaper, "but he was fun and pleasant to have as a teammate.

"That doesn't happen often and perhaps it won't happen again," he added. "But will I miss him? I believe Daniel will miss what he had here."

The 21-year-old Dutchman believes Ricciardo is quitting Red Bull at the wrong time, just as it switches from customer Renault power to new works partner Honda.

"Honda's whole attitude and the plans they have, it's totally different compared to what we were used to with Renault," he said.

"With Renault we always had to push. It always had to come from us and it was usually ignored. Now it is the other way around and we are pushed to supply parts.

"They need gearboxes and things like that from us, which are really not that easy to make. But Honda just wants to test, test, test. They do more kilometres than I do on the circuit."

This article originated on sportinastorm.com

Simon Barlow has a wealth of journalism experience and in-depth knowledge in a number of sports. As well as his extensive football knowledge, Simon is also well versed on cricket, tennis, American Football and cycling amongst others.